Have you tried using a prayer map to improve your daily prayer routine?
Prayer can transform your relationship with the risen Lord. And a prayer map is a simple tool that can help strengthen your prayer life.
As I sit here today, I can look back and see how God has graciously worked and weaved through time in prayer and it has been nothing short of transforming in my life!
As you enter into a prayer relationship with your Savior, you’ll start to see Him working and weaving in your life too.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our full disclosure for more information.
What is a Prayer Map
A prayer map is a simple tool that will help you:
- Visualize your prayers – as you’ll see in the example prayer map below, you write down your prayers, and this allows you to look back and see how God has answered, worked, and weaved through them!
- Structure your prayer – the prayer map will help you pray in different areas such as Praise, Scripture Meditation, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Intercession.
The biggest eye-opening part of a prayer map for me was this: prior to being introduced to it, my prayers were all about me. I was always asking for something. “Dear God, please this..” “Please this…” “and please this..” sort of thing.
The prayer map transformed the way I approach my time in prayer – from a constant asking to a time with the Lord filled with praise, His Holy Word, confession, thanksgiving, and then asking whatever is on my heart and mind that day.
How Do You Use a Prayer Map
A prayer map is basically a blueprint or guide to use during your daily prayer time.
Having an outline of sorts, helps you stay focused and enables you to really have a deeper and more intimate conversation with the Father.
A prayer map outline includes the following sections:
- Praise
- Scripture Meditation
- Confession
- Thanksgiving
- Intercession
Praise
When you use your prayer map, it is important how you start your time in prayer. Start your prayer in praise. You are going before the Lord Almighty, the creator of all things.
A heart that praises Him, is stayed on Him. These Bible verses about prayer were really eye-opening to me regarding prayer and praise:
“I cried out to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished my iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” Psalm 66:17-20.
Hmm…I was always praying and asking for something “please this..please that..” But notice what Psalm 66:17 does NOT say.
It does not say “I cried out to him with my mouth, and I pleaded..!” or “I cried out to him with my mouth, and I begged for insert whatever you want here.” I cried out and praised. “I cried out to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.”
Praise first, not pleading.
Praise, first. Praise Him. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.
In this section, list attributes of God’s character that you want to praise Him for. For example, you might write down “King of Kings, Author of salvation, gracious, merciful, etc.
Write them down and pray over each one. There is no wrong way to do it, but starting your prayers in praise sets your mind and heart on His goddess, His mercy, and His grace first.
Scripture Meditation
The second section of the prayer map is Scripture Meditation. Write out a particular Bible verse or passage that you want to pray over.
From there, write out what that verse is saying and its meaning.
For example, I recently prayed over John 15 “I am the vine you are the branches.” Under Scripture Meditation, you could write and pray over parts of that passage such as: “You are the vine” (verse 5), “abide in You (verses 4, 7, 9), “You chose me” (verse 16) – and talk to God as you read and study that part of Scripture.
Confession
Confession on your prayer map is just that – coming before the Lord in confession and repentance. Repentance means to turn back.
When you are praying in confession, you are talking in agreement to God that “whatever it is on your heart” to be confessed is wrong. For example, “help me turn from… Deliver me from…”
Thanksgiving
After you have Praised Him, studied and prayed over Scripture, confessed, and know you are forgiven by Jesus’ death on the cross, thanksgiving will overflow!
“Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1
Whatever you are thankful for today, write these down and thank the Lord from whom all blessings flow.
Intercession
Lastly, here comes the area of asking. Of praying for yourself and others. We intercede for others because Christ intercedes for us.
‘Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Romans 8:34.
Here is where you list out your prayers for yourself, your spouse, your children, your friends and family, world events, etc. Think of it as a ripple effect.
Those closest to you and outward. Interceding for those you love is transforming and you can read how here: praying for your friends and family is absolutely life-changing.
Prayer Map Resources
There are many resources you can use to create your own prayer map. You can DIY it with a simple journal notebook or you can use one of these as sort of a template:
You can even use regular prayer journal printables to help you map everything out and stay focused on what matters most.
Prayer Map App
We know how powerful prayer is so when we can enlist others to pray with us, it is so much more powerful than when we pray alone.
A prayer map app is another great resource you can keep handy on your phone to help you take your prayer life to the next level!
Connect with and pray with and for others in your town or across the globe with the Prayer Map App.
Are you looking for some tools and tips to boost your prayer life? If so, be sure to visit our Prayer Resources Library where you’ll find everything you need to become a powerful prayer warrior!
I hope you are encouraged to take an honest look at your prayer life. If your prayer time is focused solely on “please this, please that” as mine was before starting this prayer map, I hope it transforms your prayer life too.
And in the process, I hope you are drawn to study God’s Holy Word as you start to pray over scripture. As you seek Him out, He will make Himself known to you.
May your life be transformed as you encounter the presence of God through your time in prayer.
Lisa Stasik (Hope Persevered) encourages women walking through chronic pain and other painful life circumstances to find joy and purpose in their life through God’s Word.
